Terms and Conditions

1. Submission

By submitting a Project Proposal on the Quarry Life Award website (http://www.quarrylifeaward.com/) you are submitting an application to participate in the HeidelbergCement’s Quarry Life Awards. By doing so you agree to the Terms and Conditions and consent to be involved in the Contest subject to these Terms and Conditions, as outlined below.

2. Definitions

“Categories” are the groups of topics in which projects should apply. The categories of projects from the research Stream are Biodiversity management, Habitat and species research, Beyond quarry borders. For the community Stream, the categories of projects are Biodiversity & education, Connecting quarries and local communities and Student class project.

“Contest” means both the National Competition and International Competition for the Quarry Life Awards.

“Contestant(s)” means a person or group of persons, involved with a single proposal, taking part in the Contest.

“Financial Contribution” means financial contribution provided by HeidelbergCement to partially offset costs associated with the research phase of the Contest. The National Award Coordinator in each National Contest will be responsible for providing the amount to the Contestant. The amount will be at the discretion of HeidelbergCement.

“International Competition” means the competition as described in section 8.

“International Winners” means the selected winning Contestants (6 category winners and 1 grand prize winner, as described in section 11.2) of the International Competition.

“Jury” means either the international jury or one of the national juries, as described in section 7 of these Terms and Conditions.

“National Competition” means the competition for each country or group of countries (if applicable), as specified in section 6.

“National Winners” mean the selected winning Contestants that are ranked in 1st and 2nd place in the research Stream and in the community Stream of the National Competition.

“Participating Projects” are the Top Six Submission projects that have been selected by the national Juries to enter the Research Phase.

“Prize(s)” mean(s) the monetary award given to National Winners and the International Winners.

“Project Proposals” means the initial project proposals submitted by the Contestants for the Contest (as described in How to Participate).

“Project Reports” means the final project reports submitted by the Contestants whose Project Proposals were selected as a Top Six Submission for their country (as described in How to Participate).

“Research Phase” is the period when the Contestant that has been selected as a Participating Project can start the implementation of his/her Project Proposal idea. The Research Phase is set between January 2018 and 20 September 2018.

“Stream” is the group of categories of project topics. In the edition 2018, two streams of categories have been defined: the research Stream and the community Stream.

“Terms and Conditions” means these terms and conditions as specified herein.

“Top Six Submissions” has the meaning as defined in section 7.7.

“Quarry” or “Quarries” means any land or sites owned by HeidelbergCement or any of its subsidiaries participating in the Contest.

3. Eligibility

3.1 Contestants may be either individuals or teams.

(a) Teams must choose only one National Competition, designate a primary contact person and all team members must be eligible under these Terms and Conditions.
(b) An individual must choose only one National Competition and may only enter once, either as themselves, or as a member of a team.
(c) Individuals and teams may not enter into two contests.

3.2 Cooperation with third party foundations and non-governmental organizations is permitted, however this cooperation must be disclosed at the time of project submission.

3.3 HeidelbergCement employees and HeidelbergCement’s affiliates’ employees are not allowed to participate.

4. Project Proposals and Project Reports

4.1 Project Proposals must be (i) able to be accomplished within the time frame of January 2018 to September 2018, (ii) be submitted for national Jury selection by 20th November 2017 and (iii) conform to instructions How to Participate.

4.2 If individual(s) or teams are already working on a biodiversity project that was commissioned or commenced before the start of the contest, it may not enter the Contest with the pre-existing project. However, if that same project is subsequently expanded or developed in 2018 to include a new bio-diversity aspect, then that new aspect may be admissible to the Contest, at HeidelbergCement’s sole discretion.

4.3 The national Juries will review all submitted Project Proposals and Project Reports, but any submission which fails to comply with these Terms and Conditions can be disqualified at HeidelbergCement’s complete discretion.

5. How to participate

5.1 “How to Participate” refers to the instructions for the Quarry Life Awards, which are available here.

5.2 While HeidelbergCement will endeavor to keep the instruction How to Participate constant for the duration of the Contest, it may become necessary to change, adapt, or remove existing rules or introduce new rules. Therefore, HeidelbergCement reserves the right to amend the instructions How to Participate as may be required from time to time. It is essential that Contestants check the instructions How to Participate prior to submission to ensure that they are in compliance.

6. National Competitions

6.1 Every Contestant may only enter one (1) National Competition.

6.2 Each participating Quarry will be declared as belonging to a specific National Competition and every Project Proposal must be in reference to a Quarry in only one (1) National Competition.

6.3 The National Competition to which the Contestant(s) submit(s) a Project Proposal is determined by which Quarry the Project Proposal is based on. A Contestant’s residence or nationality is irrelevant for the purposes of determining which National Competition is entered.

6.4 The National Winners will be determined by that country’s National Jury.

6.5 National Competitions may incorporate several countries into one (1) competition. For the purposes of the Prizes, HeidelbergCement reserves the right to amalgamate several Quarries in different countries into one (1) National Competition. Prizes will only be given across the National Competition, and not to each country inside that National Competition.

7. Juries

7.1 It will be the task of each national Jury to decide the winners in each National Competition.

7.2 When deliberating, the Jury will refer to the Stream, Categories and the “Evaluation” as described in How to Participate, however the Jury may depart from these and reference to any matter it believes is relevant.

7.3 The national and international Juries will be appointed, overseen and where required, changed by HeidelbergCement at its complete discretion.

7.4 For each National Competition, there will be a national Jury. The national Jury members may include biodiversity experts with specific knowledge of regional habitats and species specific issues, HeidelbergCement managers for a business perspective and other individuals HeidelbergCement decides to appoint. The members of national Jury will have both local and English language skills.

7.5 For the International Competition, there will be an international Jury that will select the International Winners.

7.6 Each Jury is at liberty to select the methods and practices it wishes to follow in its deliberations. A Jury has discretion to make decisions in the way it sees fit. Guidelines and instructions will be provided to each Jury, but it is not bound to follow them.

7.7 In December 2017 each national Jury will select the top six Project Proposals that are approved to enter the Research Phase (“Top Six Submissions”). The Top Six Submissions will be eligible to receive a Financial Contribution toward project costs. All of the Top Six Submissions will be notified in this same month.

7.8 In Autumn 2018, each of the Juries will award in each Stream the 1st and 2nd Prizes to the individuals or teams who they decide have the best and second best projects of the National Competition. Only submissions accepted for research work under 7.7 will be considered at this stage.

8. International Competition

8.1 In order to compete in the International Competition, the Top Six Submissions of National Contest must also submit their Project Proposal in the English language (if not already in English).

8.2 The international Jury will examine all of the Top Six Submissions accepted for research work from every National Competition. The international Jury will, before the end of December 2018, select the International Winners 2018.

9. Communication

Only the Top Six Submissions from each country will be expressly contacted. Only the International Winners and National Winners will be directly notified. HeidelbergCement will make efforts to contact all participants to inform them whether their proposal has been successful or not.

10. Disqualification

10.1 Without limiting the generality of any other clause in these Terms and Conditions, sections 5.3, 6.2 and 6.3 are grounds on which a Contestant can be disqualified from the competition.

10.2 Contestants will receive a site specific health and safety briefing from site management before beginning any work at a Quarry. All Contestants agree to abide by the company’s site specific health and safety regulations and requirements delivered in that meeting. Any Contestant not following health and safety regulations will be immediately disqualified.

10.3 Any Contestants using the Financial Contribution towards project costs for matters directly not related to the Contest will be disqualified at HeidelbergCement’s discretion, and obliged to return all or part of the funds at HeidelbergCement’s discretion.

10.4 Any Contestant who is disqualified cannot receive a Prize.

10.5 Any Contestant who, with in a period of one (1) year after the announcement of the Prizes is found to have had grounds for disqualification at the time of the competition can be disqualified retroactively at HeidelbergCement’s sole discretion. This may include being stripped of any Prizes or other awards and being obliged to return any and all Prizes or Financial Contributions. This right of HeidelbergCement is again exercisable at its complete discretion.

11. Prizes

11.1 National Winners will receive the following cash Prizes:

In the research Stream:

1st place: €5 000

2nd place: €2 500

In the community Stream:

1st place: €5 000

2nd place: €2 500

11.2 International Winners will receive the following cash Prizes in addition to any National Prize they may have already won. Prizes of €10 000 will be given in each of the following categories:

Biodiversity Management

Habitat and Species Research

Beyond Quarry Borders

Biodiversity & education

Connecting quarries and local communities

Student class project (only primary and secondary students are eligible)

One Grand Prize: €30 000 will be given to the overall best project.

11.3 For the purposes of awarding the “Student Project” prize all individuals must belong to a primary or secondary school (or equivalent). No masters, PhD candidate or University professors may work on the project. Students may receive guidance and feedback from their teachers and instructors, however, all the work must be the work of the students alone. If HeidelbergCement, in its sole discretion, believes that the project or report submitted is not the work of the students, it will be ineligible for this prize.

11.4 The National Award Coordinator will liaise with the winners to decide how the funds are to be distributed. In cases where the National Competition is in a country which does not use the Euro as the official currency, the amounts will be converted to local currency.

11.5 The prize money will be distributed within 2 months of notification to the Contestants.

12 Intellectual Property & Publication Rights

12.1 By submitting a proposal for the participation to the Contest, Contestants represent and warrant explicitly that all components of their proposal, project and final report;

(i) are original creations and

(ii) that they do not infringe on any intellectual property rights including copyrights, trademarks, know how, trade secrets or patents nor any rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party. Any intellectual property infringement, misuse or plagiarism of another’s work in any form or state will result in immediate disqualification and forfeiture of eligibility to receive all awards, recognition and Prizes.

(iii) All intellectual property and industrial property rights of any entries will remain with the Contestants, but the physical and electronic items submitted to HeidelbergCement will become the property of HeidelbergCement and will not be returned after the Contest. This includes any Project Proposal, Project Reports or other submissions that are disqualified for any reason under these Terms and Conditions.

(iv) By submitting a proposal, Contestants give HeidelbergCement and its affiliates an unlimited right and permission to publish, use, utilize, copy, modify, distribute, and publicly display their Project Proposal, Project Reports and other submissions (and all information included in such proposal) for any purpose, including display on the HeidelbergCement’s, and its affiliates’ website, without any attribution or compensation to the Contestant beyond the possibility that the Jury may award a National or International prize to the Contestant.

(v) All Contestants agree that HeidelbergCement and its affiliates may use the results of the research contained in their proposals and final research projects for HeidelbergCement’s own implementation, without any attribution or compensation.

12.2 Contestants agree that all material they upload on to the website will be free from any virus’, malware, spying software or any similar electronic program that is capable of causing harm to another’s system or breaching privacy laws.

12.3 Contestants agree to indemnify and hold HeidelbergCement blameless for any damage caused by their uploading of any item described in 12.2, regardless of whether they knowingly or unknowingly uploaded such item.

13. Miscellaneous

13.1 HeidelbergCement reserves the right to transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions to any wholly owned subsidiary. HeidelbergCement may transfer any or all of its discretion under these Terms and Conditions to a natural person or persons as an agent.

13.2 Regardless of where a participant is situated globally, these Terms and Conditions are subject to the Laws of Belgium and not that of the country of the National Competitions.

14. Privacy and Google Analytics

By agreeing to these terms and conditions, you also agree to our full privacy policy, which can be found at the bottom of the main page of the Quarry Life Award website. The Privacy Policy makes up part of these terms and conditions, and by agreeing to these terms and conditions you understand you consent to the adequacy of the HeidelbergCement Privacy Policy in protecting your information.

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service from Google Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files stored on your computer that enable the analysis of the way you use the website. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website (including your IP address) is transmitted to a Google server in the US, where it is then stored. Google has certified its compliance with the U.S. Safe harbor program to receive and protect personal information from the EU. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, compile reports on website activities for website operators and to provide other services associated with website and Internet usage. Where necessary, Google will also transfer this information to third parties if required to do so by law, or if third parties process this data on behalf of Google. Google will not link your IP address with other data held by Google. You may refuse to install cookies by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser; however, please be aware that if you do so you may not be able to use the full functions of this website. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you consent to the processing of data collected about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes described above.

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About the Quarry Life Award

The Quarry Life Award is an international research competition for the promotion and education about biodiversity in quarries. The forth edition of the competition, organized by HeidelbergCement, is currently in progress.